


the secrets that make and break us

by shedreamsofstars



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, it's hurt adrien o'clock, kinda angsty i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shedreamsofstars/pseuds/shedreamsofstars
Summary: “I can’t do it anymore Ladybug,” he said bluntly, running a finger absentmindedly over his ring.“Do what?”“Keep the truth from you. I won’t stand back and let the secret of our identities ruin us.”With his already strenuous relationship with his father in ruins, Adrien has had enough of secrets tearing people away from him. Fearing the same will happen with Ladybug, he resolves to reveal himself to keep them from meeting the same fate.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 24





	the secrets that make and break us

**Author's Note:**

> full disclosure, i have no idea where this is going, i'm just along for the ride lol.

Secrets tore people apart.

Adrien Agreste knew that better than most.

They dug under your skin and festered beneath the surface, rearing their ugly heads at the worst possible moments. Like the one when he'd discovered that his father had been more than just the antagonist in his personal life.

It had been stroke of luck that Hawk Moth had not noticed Chat Noir's advance. He was distracted by Ladybug purifying an Akuma and this alone had allowed him to execute a close-range attack. The hand of fate had guided his staff right towards the man's chest, knocking him off his feet and the Miraculous right off his coat.

It clattered to the rooftop beside him, leaving behind a scrambling man Chat knew all too well. Or hardly at all, as the situation would have it.

It should have been the ground-breaking moment that finally gave Paris' heroes the upper hand – knowing Hawk Moth's identity meant they were closer one step closer to retrieving the Butterfly Miraculous and saving Nooroo.

But all Adrien felt was the ground shifting violently beneath his feet as his world rearranged into something unfamiliar before his very eyes. His ears filled with white noise, drowning him in a deafening reprise as he tried to make some sense of why his father was snatching up the Miraculous and disappearing in a cloud of white Akuma's.

He knew Ladybug was talking at him, but even her voice couldn't break through to him as he stared blankly at her lips, trying to figure out the words they were forming. He was losing his balance, the world teetering from side to side until Ladybug's hand rested firmly on his shoulder.

Her touch steadied him – it was likely the only thing that kept him from slipping and plummeting from the rooftop down into the traffic below.

Adrien didn't return home that night.

Nino had been confused by the last-minute request, but he had been more than happy to let him stay the night. He'd have to deal with Gabriel and Nathalie's wrath in the morning but getting some time away from his father was worth it.

Besides, what could his father do that was worse than him terrorising Paris?

As Chat perched on the top of a brick chimney scanning the city skyline, he wondered what Ladybug had made of the whole situation. It had been a week since they'd discovered that Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth, and he hadn't seen the girl since.

Looking out over the familiar city, it seemed that everything was the same on the outside. People still traversed the Champs Elysée with joy and the Eiffel Tower still glittered on the hour.

It was the same on the outside, but his world on the inside couldn't have looked more different as he traversed the Parisian rooftops nightly, flitting from one place to the next with an ease that bordered on deliberate carelessness.

Adrien had never gotten along well with his father, that was a well-established fact in the Agreste household. But that didn't mean that he didn't want to. In fact, it had been one of the only things he had wanted for years. To have his father understand him, to have him see him more than just a tool to exploit and further his business reach.

But there was no hope of that now.

Not when Adrien had spent the better past of the week avoiding the man at every opportunity he could. Whenever he was forced into his company, Adrien had done nothing but seethe with quiet anger and loathing at the man that sat before him, so calm and carefree.

How could his father live knowing that he was the cause of so much hurt? How could he be so unaffected by everything around him. He didn't even seem worried that Paris' two superheroes now knew his identity and could reveal his darkest secret at any moment.

What kind of man-

"Chat Noir!"

The boy spun at the sound of Ladybug's voice, his anger cooling a little at her very presence. His heart slammed wildly in his chest as he caught sight of a flash of red to his side, turning just in time to see the girl land gracefully on the rooftop below him.

"Milady," he responded with a light air he didn't quite feel as he hopped down to join her. Instinctively, he reached for her hand and bowed low, letting his lips brush against her knuckles. He held onto her fingers a beat longer than was proper, but if she noticed at all, Ladybug didn't comment on it.

"I got your message Chat. Is everything okay?" she asked, her dark hair glistening in the setting sun.

"No, actually …"

"Hawk Moth?" she interrupted, glancing around as if there was some imminent danger present. She swung her yo-yo defensively, the sound of it cutting through the air sharp and dangerous as she spun to face him again.

"No," he responded. "It's not him, but it's _about_ him."

"Oh," Ladybug said quietly, letting her yo-yo fall slack in her fingers. She was silent a moment, tilting her head as if to try and figure out what he wanted to say. Even as conflicted as he was on the inside, he couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked right then.

"You … you saw who he was," Chat said simply, dropping down to the ground and leaning against the brick wall behind him.

Ladybug nodded. "Yes," she replied softly. "We both did."

"But you haven't told anyone."

Adrien had expected his public life to implode just as much as his internal one at the revelation that his father was a criminal mastermind, but the news channels had been nothing but crickets. Ladybug had remained silent, and he didn't know whether to be grateful or not.

"No. I don't know what to do with that information yet." she said, taking a seat beside him.

"Why not? What's stopping you from going straight to Nadia or literally any other reporter?"

She sighed, fiddling with her fingers in that nervous way of hers. It always reminded him of something, but he could never place what. "It's difficult to explain but, exposing him could hurt someone I care about."

"… Adrien?" he asked cautiously.

Ladybug looked surprised but nodded. "Among others, yes."

A thick silence settled around them just as Chat realised he was out of time. The small talk was done. He had called Ladybug here for a reason, one he had refused to tell even Plagg, and now it was time to follow through

He took a deep breath and turned to the girl beside him. "I can't do it anymore Ladybug," he said bluntly, running a finger absentmindedly over his ring.

"Do what?"

"Keep the truth from you. I won't stand back and let the secret of our identities ruin us," he said, repeating the words he'd been practicing inside his head all week.

"Chat, what do you mean? We can't reveal ourselves - you know that. It's dangerous, and we could-"

"I don't care anymore. I thought that I'd be able to know him someday, you know?" Chat said, his green eyes glassy as all the pain and hurt at his father's betrayal caught up to him.

Talking to Plagg had been one thing, but to actually voice the words he'd been feeling inside was harder than he had ever expected. Even still, he pushed on, knowing that there was no going back now.

"I wanted us to understand each other and have something real between us. But his lies were always more important. They kept us apart and now he's so far gone I can never reach or forgive him."

Ladybug reached for his hands, and a part of him wondered if she was doing it to keep him from slipping his ring off. Not that it mattered anyway. They both knew that he didn't have tor remove his Miraculous - there were other ways for him to achieve his goal.

"Chat," she said, her voice full of concern. "Who are you talking about?"

"My dad," he choked out. "We've been fighting Hawk Moth, but it's been him this whole time and I never knew. The secrets kept us apart and I can't do it anymore."

Ladybug's eyes went wide as the pieces began to fall into place. "Chat, stop talking-"

"No Ladybug! I don't want us to end up like him – so deluded by ourselves that we can't even tell the difference between right and wrong. That we can't even trust one another."

"We won't Chat. I'll always trust you; you never need to worry about that," she said, but there was a flicker of doubt in her blue eyes and he caught onto it instantly.

"You don't believe that. Our secrets will come back to haunt us one day," he said, voice defeated. "Forgive me Ladybug, but I can't let that happen."

Chat knew the exact moment Ladybug figured out what he was about to do. She lifted her fingers to cover his lips, as if she could somehow stop his words escaping if she could just reach him in time, but she was too slow.

"Plagg, claws in!"

She sat transfixed in horror, hand still outstretched as Chat's mask and suit began to disintegrate in front of her. She screwed her eyes shut tight, but by then the damage had already been done. She'd seen who he was underneath, who he always had been.

She knew that Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste were one and the same.

It was a relief to have another person know the truth if he was honest. A cold and welcoming relief. Like he had spent the longest time tied with invisible bonds, and now that they were gone he could move easily again, without restraint.

It felt like he had finally set himself free.

Adrien risked a glance towards Ladybug, but she had turned away from him. "Ladybug," he whispered, placing a gentle hand against her shoulder and urging her to face him. Now that he no longer had to hide himself from her, everything would be easier. If he could just explain to himself to her, she'd see that too.

"Ladybug, please look at me," he said again. She resisted at first, but she could only hold out for so long. As she turned back to him, all the elation he had felt at revealing himself vanished the moment he caught sight of her tear stained cheeks.

"Ladybug, you're crying," he said, tone filled with alarm. He leaned in towards her to wipe at the tears, but she swatted his hands away angrily. She jumped away from his touch and pushed herself to her feet, sniffling softly.

"Chat … what have you done?"

**Author's Note:**

> this started off as a fluff piece believe it or not, but it accidentally turned into this angsty mess. i've never written for these two before, so i don't feel like i have their voices down just yet, but hopefully i'll get better at that. thanks so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed. feel free to let me know your thoughts if you have the time x


End file.
